Solar Stocks Flare Up — Wednesday’s IP Market Recap

[1]Winter, schminter. The sun ignored the calendar and came out full force Wednesday, with a number of solar stocks booming to double-digit gains amid newfound optimism for the sector.

Deutsche Bank released a report saying that while it expected losses from solar companies in their Q4 earnings reports, demand could increase in the next month. Combined with already-low estimations, that could “likely drive upside sentiment surprise,” DB’s Vishal Shah wrote in the report.

Axiom Capital’s Gordon Johnson removed sell ratings on five solar stocks, as reported[2] by The Street, citing the possibility of short-term benefits from a boom in German demand.

While Johnson also reiterated his long-term negativity for the sector, much-battered solar stocks[3] still had all the nearby positivity they needed. Down the line, large-scale gains were made by JinkoSolar Holding (NYSE:JKS[4], +32%), ReneSola (NYSE:SOL[5], +30.8%), Trina Solar (NYSE:TSL[6], +29.2%), Suntech Power (NYSE:STP[7], +27.3%), MEMC Electronic Materials (NYSE:WFR[8], +21.5%), Yingli Green Energy (NYSE:YGE[9], +20.4%) and Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ[10], +15.5%).

Even First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR[11]) — the poster child for poor-performing solar stocks in 2011, with a 75% decline — gained a robust 7.8%, and the sector’s gain as a whole was reflected in a 12% jump in the Guggenheim Solar ETF (NYSE:TAN[12]).

Momentum stock Crocs (NASDAQ:CROX[13]), maker of those colorful plastic shoes you see everywhere, made some headway for the first time in months, gaining 16% after it announced that it expects full-year revenues to hit $1 billion for the first time when it announces fourth-quarter earnings. The company also said it expects quarterly revenues to be at the high end of previous guidance of $200 million to $205 million.

CROX has been trading in a range around the mid-teens since mid-October, when a poor earnings report took a 40% bite out of the stock[14]. It finished Wednesday at $18.56 per share.